# accelerator
## English
### Etymology

* First attested in 1611.
* (motor vehicle): First attested in 1900.
* accelerate +‎ -or

### Pronunciation

* (US) IPA: /əkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪ.tɚ/, /ækˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪ.tɚ/, /ɪkˈsɛl.əˌɹeɪ.tɚ/
** Audio (US):(file)

### Noun

accelerator (plural accelerators)
* One who, or that which, accelerates.
    The Second World War is said to have been a great accelerator for many scientific findings.
* A device for causing acceleration.
* (chemistry) A substance which speeds up chemical reactions.
* (vehicles) A pedal causing the vehicle to accelerate when it is pressed.
    As soon as you get onto the slipway, push the accelerator.
* (photography) A chemical that reduces development time.
* (physics) A device that accelerates charged subatomic particles; a particle accelerator.
* (physiology, medicine) A muscle or nerve that speeds the performance of an action.
* (computing) An accelerator key.
** 2002, Davis Howard Chapman, Sams Teach Yourself Visual C++ .NET in 21 Days, page 187:If they had allowed single-character accelerators, Windows wouldn't be able to determine whether the character was input or a shortcut.
* (computing) A computer component using dedicated hardware to accelerate the processing and display of graphics.
* (historical) A light van to take mails between a post office and a railway station.
* (business) A mentoring program for startup companies.
** 2016 October 3, Tad Friend, “Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny”, in The New Yorker‎:In the nineties, before the accelerator era, startups were usually launched by mid-career engineers or repeat entrepreneurs, who sought millions in venture capital and then labored in secret on something complicated that took years to launch.

#### Synonyms

(accelerator pedal):
* (North America) gas pedal, gas
* throttle
* go pedal
(accelerates subatomic particles):
* particle accelerator
* atom smasher

#### Derived terms

* accelerator card, (computers): a device that speeds up computer processing
* accelerator effect
* accelerator key, (computers): a key which a user can press to activate a menu or other element
* accelerator mass spectrometry
* accelerator nerves, (physiology): nerves that speed up a bodily function
* accelerator pedal, (automotive): a pedal used to control a vehicle's speed
* cardioaccelerator
* hit the accelerator
* laser-plasma accelerator
* particle accelerator
* plasma accelerator
* plasma wakefield accelerator
* preaccelerator

#### Translations
### Anagrams

* retrocaecal

## Latin
### Verb

accelerātor
* second/third-person singular future passive imperative of accelerō

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French accélérateur. Equivalent to accelera +‎ -tor.

### Adjective

accelerator m or n (feminine singular acceleratoare, masculine plural acceleratori, feminine and neuter plural acceleratoare)
* accelerative

#### Declension
## Swedish
### Noun

accelerator c
* (physics) an accelerator (device that accelerates various particles to high velocities)
* (chemistry) an accelerator (substance that speeds up chemical reactions)

#### Declension

| | | nominative | genitive |
| singular | indefinite | accelerator | accelerators |
| singular | definite | acceleratorn | acceleratorns |
| plural | indefinite | acceleratorer | acceleratorers |
| plural | definite | acceleratorerna | acceleratorernas |

#### Related terms

* acceleration
* accelerera

### References

* accelerator in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* accelerator in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)